A man wakes in a bamboo grove. A dogs comes by, then runs away. The man starts running and winds up on a beach where lies, in the middle of chaos, a wrecked plane. It only takes a few seconds for the man to start rescuing people around him. How did they survive? Why is the hero not on the beach like everyone else? I came to the conclusion that God has always been there, ever since the first episode. And in a few seconds, Lost became my passion.

When I was 9 years old in the summer going into my 4th grade year, my family hosted a Fourth of July party at our camp. Family members visited, relatives came and left. After the party, my neighbor and her family had stayed a little while longer. Her, myself, and my three other sisters were bored and had nothing else to do. We were worn out from all of the swimming and running around we had been doing the entire day. So, in our living room we sat, thinking of what to do. Then, my neighbor made the suggestion that changed everything.

From the moment Jack’s eye opened, my young mind was already racing with thoughts and questions. “Why is there a man wearing a suit in the middle of the jungle? What is he running from? Does he know where he’s going?” My neighbor shushed me and said that I would find out soon. Then, I saw the plane. All of the screaming people, stumbling across the wreckage of the fuselage. Jack running around the beach to help those in need. The injured people crying for help. I knew I was far too young for such gore, but it was so captivating that I just couldn’t peel my eyes from the screen. My little sister was already out of the room, and my older sister was covering her eyes with her hands. But I just watched, so fascinated, yet so terrified, of what was happening.

As the summer went on, episode after episode was watched by my sisters and I. We came to love the characters. We laughed with them, mourned with them, and grew very close with them. Some of my sisters had eventually fallen away from the show, and by the time I had reached The End, my twin sister and I were the only ones still watching.

In the basement of our lake house, the two of us sat in silence as we watched the church fade to white and Jack’s eye flutter closed, and tears ran down my cheeks as the iconic “LOST” closed what was the best show on television.

Five years later, I still watch Lost. But now, since I am older, I have a much deeper understanding of the beautiful details that made Lost such an incredible show. It seems like the connections I made with these characters become stronger every time I watch it. Lost has so many essential lessons about love, life, destiny, faith, and, most importantly, being able to let go, like all of us viewers had to do with Lost.

There are some fans of Lost that may have just finished the show, and some others who have been watching since September 22nd, 2004, long before I began, but no matter how long we’ve been watching it for, Lost has still made an impact on all of our lives.

I was 11 years old, getting out of the shower on a random night in September. My dad called me into his office to check out the special effects of a plane crash on a new show called Lost. I walked into his office in my towel, not even pausing to dry off and I was in amazement over the plane crash from the pilot. I never missed an episode after that and my curiosity and love for the show kept growing. From then on, everything revolved around this show and even though my friends used to say it was pathetic, it really changed my life, living through the characters and feeling their emotions as though they were real. This might not be a legit moment from an episode in Lost, but I wanted to shout out to everyone who feels the same way, and say thank you to J.J., Damon, and Carlton for providing me with the best six years of television I will ever experience in my life.

I remember when I first saw the Pilot, I kept thinking “What the hell is going on?” – as I’m sure millions of others did too. At the end of the second part, when they hear Rousseau’s signal and actually realize that there’s someone on the Island for 16 years and she probably never been rescued, this expression on Charlie’s face when he says “Guys, where are we?” just perfectly sums up everything about the Pilot and even the first season as a whole, when the audience, as well as the Losties, knew absolutely nothing. I think this scene, this question, kind of prepared you for the great journey that is/was Lost.
This may be a cliche that I chose this moment but it was the very first cliffhanger, one of the firsts of the many WTFs and I remember how it gave me chills. It still does. Not to mention after he said it, just bamm… LOST. I was like, “Wait, what just happened? They can’t end it here!” With this at the Pilot’s climax, they bought me for 6 terrific seasons.

For me, the reveal of Locke being able to walk again was the epitome of the Lost experience. It was about regaining faith, being healed, and having a destiny on The Island. When Locke sat discouraged in the Melbourne Walkabout Tours office, trying to convince the tour guide to be brought along and screaming at him it was his destiny, he so desperately wanted to believe he was important and he was special. He had finally gotten over his depression and made the arrangements to take the tour despite his “condition”. He had finally gotten up his courage to deal with what his father did to him by something constructive like going on a journey of self-exploration instead of just sitting around dreaming and being scared.
So when that tour guide told him “No, John. You can’t (do this)”, once again he was hit with the awful truth of the limitations of his life.

Cut to-

John Locke wiggling his toes on the beach after the crash. The miracle happened. He wasn’t forsaken after all. He wasn’t lost anymore. He was saved; healed. It all made sense now. “This is your destiny John. You wanted to believe so badly in things all your life, but each time you were disappointed often with disastrous results. Then when you woke up on that beach and…” well let’s just say it was as big of an enlightenment for John Locke, as what laying in The Source was for Jack in “The End”.
For me this moment epitomized what Lost was about. Redemption. They all came to The Island for a reason and we were shown how miraculous those reasons were for the first time with Locke being healed. We didn’t have to wait until the very last episode to see them all in the church. We got a glimpse of it very early on.

This is the episode when they find out that one of the survivors, Ethan, was not one of the passengers on board of the plane. The show turned into a whole new direction when it came to the question “Are there others on the island?” Ethan kidnaps Claire and Charlie while Jack and Kate try to find them throughout the episode.
The moment that really got me was when they found Charlie hanging from a tree. Just the sight of that made my heart drop. They cut him loose and Jack was trying so hard to save his life. That was actually the first time the show gave me tears. I never before had cried on an episode of Lost till that scene came (Who knew later on through all the seasons I would cry more).
I felt just like Kate when Jack just started hitting him in the chest real hard. I was screaming on the inside “STOP!” Charlie was one of my favorite characters so the thought of him being dead just touched me like “Wow, these people aren’t invincible, they can die.”
Finally Charlie regained consciousness and I started smiling with tears in my eyes. After that moment I knew this show wasn’t like the rest. It was different, and I actually cared about these characters. This is probably the only show that made me cry, laugh and cheer.

I suppose this is tied to the aforementioned “Something tells me he never got around to making that call“, but this was the first time other than obvious watercooler moments (like Locke’s toes) that I was completely floored watching the show. It was spooky. It was surprising. It was chilling. It was also the first time I was enjoyably frustrated with the show (something I got very accustomed to over the years of Lost) when Sawyer remained silent and walked away.
I think viewers then, and sadly some now, felt the show was entirely about its mysteries and mythology, and every passing second that didn’t reveal the identity of the Monster was one to complain about. But I felt then and we learned ultimately this was a character-driven show, just set on an insane island. I feel so bad for those people that were missing out on what I was being blown away by, and this scene not only embodied that but revealed to me a show that was much more than what I even thought it was. The off-island connections were not coincidences. These characters were going to suffer, succeed, fail and ultimately, learn, even from the most unbelievable sources. If even lowly Sawyer held the promise of aid for mighty Jack, this show must have terrific things up its sleeve.I vividly remember the simultaneous smashing of Jack’s foot through the dried wood and the episode’s smash to black. That moment was so exciting and moving as well, much like so many others on this show, and I am very grateful for how much fun I had over the years.

I love this episode solely for the ending. Seeing Sun in the bathing suit, uncovered for the first time on the island, had a freeing feeling. She was breaking free of the bonds held by her culture and husband, and I loved it. I love Sun as a character, and this small step confirmed to me that she had a fight in her.
I have been a Lost fan for a long time now. I enjoy the show, and I love the questions it presents.

I think all my Lost moments concern John Locke. He’s my favourite character. Sure, he’s got lot of amazing moments, but my personal favourite is from season 1, when the hatch lights up in episode “Deus Ex Machina”. It’s after Boone dies and Aaron is born. I think that scene is a defining moment for Locke’s story and character development for the rest of the six seasons. You see this man, who’s suffered enormously in his life and who has finally found a motivation, a purpose, a meaning. I’ve always found the discussion of free will VS fate VS coincidence very interesting. Everything John Locke does after this, all of his actions, are linked to this moment. Imagine finding or going through something so powerful, so moving, that you are absolutely convinced that this is your calling in life. All of this, combined with Terry O’Quinn performance and Michael Giacchino’s music, makes this scene my favourite Lost moment. I have others, but this does it for me. Everytime I watch I get real goosebumps and a little teary eyed. I love John Locke!

Felix, 13 – Chichester (England) :

I know somebody has already done this but I couldn’t think of any other moment which stuck with me the same as this one. After what had been a stunning hour of TV, the ending of the episode was incredibly moving as John desperately banged on the hatch door begging for a reason for his suffering. Before the Island he had been physically and mentally lost. The Island healed him and presented him with a destiny – a purpose. John’s life had been broken and his destiny was the Island, however it seemed his efforts to fulfil his destiny had been futile. Then, in a moment I was sure John was going to lose faith, a light comes on. A glimmer of hope. That this really is his destiny, that all the suffering in his life has been leading to this. When I first watched this, I found a tear forming in my eye and I realised that this was a truly extraordinary work of art. Whenever I watch this clip again, I always get a lump in my throat.

With Boone’s death, Lost turned a corner – and not just because his was the first death of a major character. As insignificant as many people see him and his death it was really anything but. Boone was my favorite character however not even I could have ever imagined the significance it held.
The way I see it: his death gave way to a new life – Aaron’s. It saved a life – Desmond’s (it resulted in Locke pounding on the hatch out of frustration, which kept Desmond from adding a second splatter to the hatch ceiling.) His death was also a major catalyst in the struggle between Jack and Locke that would span the next five seasons. Lastly, it gave us a glimpse into how the island works, in that it “demanded his life” as a sacrifice.
Arguably the most important aspect of Boone’s death would be some of his final words: “I know you made a promise. I’m letting you off the hook. Let me go, Jack.” Little did we know way back then just how significant those words would be; they essentially foreshadowed exactly how the next five seasons would play out and inevitably what it would all come down to – Jack “letting go.”